Preventative traffic congestion social networking improvement system within a community

ABSTRACT

A method, system, and computer program product for transmitting traffic congestion routing data to a community of global positioning system (GPS) devices. Community routing logic of a community routing system (CRS) receives a route request containing the current location and desired destination of a GPS device. The CRS may use the community routing logic to determine a path that the user of the GPS device should travel on to best minimize driving time and traffic conditions for a community of users of the CRS. The CRS considers road capacity, current traffic conditions, and historical traffic data for roads and alternate roads along a preferred route. The CRS also considers routes previously taken by the GPS device. Additionally, the CRS may receive information about routes taken by other GPS devices to further improve future routes of the community of GPS devices.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/131,762, filed Jun. 2, 2008 and entitled, “PreventativeTraffic Congestion Social Networking Improvement System within aCommunity,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates in general to global positioning system(GPS) devices. Still more particularly, the present invention relates totransmitting optimized routes to several GPS devices, wherein theoptimized routes provide travel instructions to minimize trafficcongestion and driving time for a community.

2. Description of the Related Art

GPS devices have become ubiquitous for assisting persons in traveling totheir intended destinations. Currently, GPS devices only consider travelroutes with reference to a single user travelling to a destination alonga known route based on ideal road conditions. In many situations, ifevery passenger of a community was to take a same route suggested by aGPS device, the road would become overly congested, lengthening thetypical travel time for the entire community.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method, system, and computer program product for transmitting trafficcongestion routing data to a community of global positioning system(GPS) devices. Community routing logic of a community routing system(CRS) receives a route request containing the current location anddesired destination of a GPS device. The CRS may use the communityrouting logic to determine a path that the user of the GPS device shouldtravel on to best minimize driving time and traffic conditions for acommunity of users of the CRS. The CRS considers road capacity, currenttraffic conditions, and historical traffic data for roads and alternateroads along a preferred route. The CRS also considers routes previouslytaken by the GPS device. Additionally, the CRS may receive informationabout routes taken by other GPS devices to further improve future routesof the community of GPS devices.

The above features of the present invention will become apparent in thefollowing detailed written description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are setforth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, will bestbe understood by reference to the following detailed descriptions of anillustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a community routing system in which thepresent invention may be implemented; and

FIG. 2. is a block diagram of an exemplary system for implementing acommunity routing system to efficiently route a community of GPSdevices, subscribed to the community routing system, towards a commondestination.

FIG. 3. is a high-level logical flowchart of an exemplary method forusing a community routing system to efficiently route a community of GPSdevices to one or more destinations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The illustrative embodiments provide a method, system, and computerprogram product for a community routing system that efficiently routes acommunity of GPS devices towards a common destination, in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention.

In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of theinvention, specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled inthe art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized and that logical, architectural,programmatic, mechanical, electrical and other changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Thefollowing detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined onlyby the appended claims.

It is understood that the use of specific component, device and/orparameter names are for example only and not meant to imply anylimitations on the invention. The invention may thus be implemented withdifferent nomenclature/terminology utilized to describe thecomponents/devices/parameters herein, without limitation. Each termutilized herein is to be given its broadest interpretation given thecontext in which that term is utilized.

With reference now to FIG. 1, there is depicted a block diagram of anexemplary community routing system (CRS) 102 in which the presentinvention may be implemented. CRS 102 includes a processor 104 that iscoupled to a system bus 106. A transceiver 110, connected to system bus106, enables CRS 102 to communicate with global positioning system (GPS)devices 202 a-n and network 142 via wired, wireless, or GPS satellitebased technology. Display 108, coupled to system bus 106, allows forpresentation of a general user interface (including text and graphics)for use by a user of CRS 102.

CRS 102 also comprises system memory 118, which is connected to systembus 106. System memory 118 of CRS 102 includes community routing logic(CRL) 120. CRL 120 includes logic for implementing the processesdescribed in FIGS. 2-3.

As shown, system memory 118 also contains a historical traffic database124, traffic database 126, and global positioning device database 128.Historical traffic database 124 contains historical traffic conditionsand information for roads in a region. Traffic database 126 containsreal-time data of traffic conditions of roads in a region. Globalpositioning device database 128 contains prior routing data (e.g.,routes previously taken by a GPS device) of GPS devices. In an alternateembodiment, traffic database 126 may be accessed of network 142.

As illustrated and described herein, CRS 102 may be a computer system orserver having required hardware components and programmed with CRL 120,executes on the processor to provide the functionality of the invention.In this implementation CRS 102 is coupled to a GPS system. However, CRS102 may also be a GPS device that is specifically designed to includethe functionality of CRL 120, as described herein. CRS 102 may also be aGPS satellite or a software instance that communicates with a GPSsatellite. The hardware elements depicted in CRS 102 are not intended tobe exhaustive, but rather are representative to highlight essentialcomponents required by and/or utilized to implement the presentinvention. For instance, CRS 102 may include alternate memory storagedevices such as magnetic cassettes, Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs),Bernoulli cartridges, and the like. These and other variations areintended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Note also the architecture shown in FIG. 1 for CRS 102 may besubstantially implemented in Global Positioning System (GPS) Devices 202a-n, more clearly illustrated in FIG. 2. Additionally, by includingTransceiver 110 in the architecture of CRS 102, the appropriate elementsillustrated as components of CRS 102 can communicate with GPS devices202 a-n.

With reference now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an exemplary system forimplementing a CRS to efficiently route a community of GPS devices,subscribed to the community routing system, towards a commondestination.

A GPS device 202 of community GPS devices 202 a-n subscribed to CRS 102initiates a route request to travel towards a desired destination.According to the described and illustrative embodiment, a route requestcontains the current location of a GPS device 202 a-n, a desireddestination, and a maximum re-routing distance off of a Preferred Route204 to the destination. Preferred Route 204 is the model route of travelbetween the current location and the desired destination of GPS device202 a-n under ideal conditions (e.g., low traffic, no constructionzones, good visibility). Logic of CRS 102 (e.g., CRL 120, FIG. 1)determines the Preferred Route 204 of travel between the currentlocation and the desired destination of GPS device 202 a-n. The maximumre-routing distance is a maximum distance that a user of GPS device 202a-n desires to travel off of the preferred route 204 from the currentlocation of GPS device 202 a-n to the desired destination. For example,a user of GPS device 202 a may select a maximum re-routing distance of 5miles. When calculating an optimized route 206 a, CRS 102 will re-routeGPS device 202 a no more than 5 miles off of Preferred Route 204.

CRS 102 may also reference historical data of roads along preferredroute 204 by reading the historical data from a database (e.g.,historical traffic database 120, FIG. 1). CRS 102 may receive currenttraffic congestion conditions from a real-time traffic database (e.g.,traffic database 126). CRS 102 may reference a database of routing dataof GPS devices 202 a-n (e.g., global positioning device database 128) todetermine past routes travelled by a GPS device 202 a-n. Logic of CRS102 may then select alternate roads off of Preferred Route 204 tocalculate an Optimized Route 206 a-n for a GPS device 202 a-n to travelto reach the desired destination. Optimized Routes 206 a-n serves tominimize traffic conditions for a community of vehicles for a multipleroutes travelling towards a similar destination. CRS 102 may alsoreference historical data from a database to determine the capacity orroads along the Preferred Route 204 and alternate roads off of thePreferred Route 204. CRS 102 may also receive information from thereal-time traffic database of the number of cars already travellingalong the Preferred Route 204 and alternate roads off of the PreferredRoute 204.

When calculating an Optimized Route 206 a-n, CRS 102 considers currenttravel conditions, historical travel conditions, the number of GPSdevices 202 a-n currently traveling along Preferred Route 204 and otherOptimized Routes 206 a-n previously taken by the requesting GPS device202 a-n. CRS 102 selects an Optimized Route 206 a-n to minimize trafficcongestion for a community of GPS devices 202 a-n. It is important tonote that while an Optimized Route 206 a-n calculated by CRS 102 may notbe the most efficient path of travel for the requesting GPS Device 202a-n, an Optimized Route 206 a-n ensures that the overall driving timeand traffic conditions for a community are minimized. Alternatively, incircumstances where traffic conditions are light, CRS 102 may transmitthe preferred route 204 to GPS Devices 202 a-n. In the event trafficconditions change, CRS 102 may adjust Optimized Routes 206 a-n tocompensate for increased traffic levels. CRS 102 circumvents escalatingtraffic conditions by efficiently routing traffic along multipleOptimized Routes 206 a-n.

For example, five GPS devices 202 a-e have requested to travel towards aspecific destination. Highway A is a two lane highway which is also thePreferred Route 204 to reach the destination in the shortest amount oftime. Highway B is a 8 lane highway, with a slightly longer travel pathto the destination. CRS 102 may calculate Optimized Route 206 a (travelon Highway A) and Optimized Route 206 b (travel on Highway B). To bestmaintain optimized traffic conditions, CRS 102 transmits Optimized Route206 a to a first requesting GPS device 202 a, while Optimized Route 206b is transmitted to a next four requesting GPS devices 202 b-e.

Additionally, CRS 102 may consider past Optimized Routes 206 a-ntravelled by a GPS device 202 a-n, and select a shorter or longer routeto normalize typical travel time for the community of GPS devices 202a-n, who may be travelling towards the same destination. For example,the user of GPS device 202 d has traveled along a longer Optimized Route206 b on the way home from work Monday through Thursday of the sameweek. Optimized Route 206 a is a more direct route, but has a smallervehicle capacity. Logic of CRS 102 may recognize that the user of GPSdevice 202 d has travelled the longer route the past several days, andtransmit the more direct Optimized Route 206 a to GPS device 202 d onFriday.

CRS 102 may also receive information of routes actually travelled by GPSdevices 202 a-n. This information may be used to better calculate futureOptimized Routes 206 a-n. Alternatively, this information may be used toonly send certain Optimized Routes 206 a-n to a specific GPS devices 202a-n. In one embodiment, upon a GPS device 202 a-n reaching the desireddestination, CRS 102 may receive information of the routs taken by theGPS device 202 a-n. For example, despite receiving Optimized Route 206 bMonday through Thursday of a same work week, GPS device 102 c travelledalong Optimized Route 206 a each day. CRS 102 may then continue totransmit the longer Optimized Route 206 b on Friday, instead of theshorter Optimized Route 206 a, to facilitate a better community flow oftraffic.

Depending on the number of calculated Optimized Routes 206 a-n, CRS 102may also present a selection of more than one Optimized Route 206 a-n toa GPS device 202 a-n. CRS 102 may send a notice to a GPS device 202 a-nof a selection of other GPS devices 202 b-n in a same Social Network 208a-n that are travelling along an Optimized Route 206 a-n. A socialnetwork is a group of users whose GPS devices 202 a-n are collectivelyregistered with CRS 102 (e.g., GPS devices 202 c-n that are registeredto coworkers at a same company). CRS 102 may transmit route or carpoolsuggestions to a GPS device 202 specifying other GPS devices 202 b-n ina same social network typically travelling along a same Optimized Route206 a-n. A user of a GPS device 202 a-n may use this information todetermine if they wish to remain on their current route of travel, or ifthey would rather travel on a route of another user. Additionally, CRS102 may interface with social networking software stored on an externalnetwork (e.g., network 142, FIG. 1) to better facilitate carpool orroute recommendations amongst GPS devices 202 a-n subscribed to thesocial networking software. CRS 102 may also interface with a databaseof a social network to gather event data and or to share carpoolopportunities with other users within the social network on the same ora similar route. In an alternate embodiment, CRS 102 may also retrieveinformation from a calendar component of the social network regardingschedules of other users. A user may use this information to decide ifthey can assist the social network community by taking a longer route ona less busy day, in hopes that on busier days other users would do thesame. CRS 102 may transmit an Optimized Route 206 a-n taken by one GPSdevice 202 a-n to another GPS device 202 a-n, to provide informationbetween users on similar routes. Information shared between GPS devices202 a-n by CRS 102 may also contain identification information (e.g.,full name, department title) of the GPS devices 202 a-n to identify theuser of one GPS device 202 a-n to the user of another GPS device 202a-n.

With reference now to FIG. 3, a high-level logical flowchart of anexemplary method for using a community routing system to efficientlyroute a community of GPS devices to one or more destinations, ispresented. After initiator block 302, the community routing system (CRS)receives a route request containing the current location, desireddestination, and maximum desired re-routing distance of a globalpositioning system (GPS) device (block 304).

CRS calculates a preferred route of travel (block 306). CRS may thenanalyze the capacity of roads along the preferred route (block 308), andevaluate alternate roads off of the preferred route (block 310). CRSdetermines the current traffic conditions of (a) roads along thepreferred route and (b) the alternate roads off of the preferred route(block 312). CRS references historical traffic conditions to determinetypical traffic and congestion along the preferred route, and along thealternate roads off of the preferred route perhaps based on time of dayor other variables (block 314). CRS retrieves data of past routes takenby the requesting GPS device (block 316), and determines the maximumre-routing distance of the requesting GPS device transmitted in theroute request (block 318). CRS determines other vehicles in the samecommunity of the requesting GPS device that are travelling along similarroutes (block 320).

Using the information gathered in blocks 304 thru block 320, CRScalculates an optimized route of travel for the requesting GPS device(block 322). CRS then transmits the optimized route to the GPS deviceand tracks the actual route taken by the requesting GPS device forstorage in a historical database (block 324). The process ends atterminator block 326.

In the flow charts above, one or more of the methods are embodied inmicrocode such that a series of steps are performed when the computerreadable code is executed on a computing device. In someimplementations, certain steps of the methods are combined, performedsimultaneously or in a different order, or perhaps omitted, withoutdeviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, while themethod steps are described and illustrated in a particular sequence, useof a specific sequence of steps is not meant to imply any limitations onthe invention. Changes may be made with regards to the sequence of stepswithout departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Useof a particular sequence is therefore, not to be taken in a limitingsense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by theappended claims.

Although aspects of the present invention have been described withrespect to a computer processor and program application/logic, it shouldbe understood that at least some aspects of the present invention mayalternatively be implemented as a program product for use with a datastorage system or computer system. Programs defining functions of thepresent invention can be delivered to a data storage system or computersystem via a variety of signal-bearing media, which include, withoutlimitation, non-writable storage media (e.g. CD-ROM), writable storagemedia (e.g. a floppy diskette, hard disk drive, read/write CD-ROM,optical media), and communication media, such as computer and telephonenetworks including Ethernet. It should be understood, therefore, thatsuch signal-bearing media, when carrying or encoding computer readableinstructions that direct method functions of the present invention,represent alternative embodiments of the present invention. Further, itis understood that the present invention may be implemented by a systemhaving means in the form of hardware, software, or a combination ofsoftware and hardware as described herein or their equivalent.

Having thus described the invention of the present application in detailand by reference to illustrative embodiments thereof, it will beapparent that modifications and variations are possible withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention defined in the appendedclaims. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular system, device or component thereof to the teachings of theinvention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore,it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particularembodiments disclosed for carrying out this invention, but that theinvention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. donot denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second,etc. are used to distinguish one element from another.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for optimizing travel time for acommunity of GPS devices, the method comprising: transmitting, to aparticular GPS device, a selection of one or more alternate routes inuse by one or more GPS devices of a subset of GPS devices within acommunity of GPS devices, wherein the subset of GPS devices and theparticular GPS device are part of a same social network, wherein asocial network is a group of users associated with a corresponding groupof GPS devices that are collectively registered with the communityrouting system, and wherein each GPS device in the community isassociated with a vehicle; providing a selection to the particular GPSdevice of a currently selected route and the one or more alternateroutes in use by the other devices in the subset of GPS devices; andreceiving a selection of an alternate optimized route from the one ormore alternate routes in use by the subset of GPS devices.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: identifying a preferred route fordirecting the one or more vehicles in the community to the desireddestination; evaluating alternate roads that can be taken off thepreferred route to reach the desired destination; receiving a currenttraffic congestion information from a traffic congestion informationprovider; determining one or more locations where traffic levels alongthe preferred route exceed normal levels along the preferred route atthe current time;
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving a route request from one or more GPS devices within thecommunity of GPS devices, wherein the route request contains: a currentlocation of the GPS device; a desired destination of the GPS device; anda maximum re-routing distance permitted from a typical route whiletraveling to the desired destination; and determining one or morevehicles in the community traveling along the preferred route.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: creating at least two optimizedroutes to reach a desired destination, wherein the at least twooptimized routes provides routing instructions to minimize driving timefor the community of GPS devices; transmitting a first optimized routeto reach the desired destination to a second subset of GPS deviceswithin the community of GPS devices; and transmitting a second optimizedroute to reach the desired destination to a third subset of GPS deviceswithin the community of GPS devices.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: receiving updated traffic congestion information;determining whether the traffic congestion information has substantiallychanged; in response to determining the current traffic congestioninformation has substantially changed, modifying the at least twooptimized routes to minimize the overall driving time for the communityof GPS devices; transmitting the modified first optimized route to thesecond subset of GPS devices; and transmitting the modified secondoptimized route to the third subset of GPS devices.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: retrieving, from a calendar component of asame social network, schedule information of other users of the samesocial network; and transmitting, to the particular GPS device, one ormore carpool suggestions, wherein the carpool suggestions identify oneor more other GPS devices within the same social network typicallytravelling along a same optimized route to reach the desireddestination;
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmittingidentification information of a user of each alternate route to theparticular GPS device, wherein the identification information contains aname of the user of each alternate route.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: identifying one or more past optimized routestravelled by the particular GPS device; selecting one of a longer routefor the particular GPS device and a shorter route for the particular GPSdevice, wherein the selected one of the longer route and the shortedroute normalizes typical travel time for the community of GPS devices;and transmitting the selected one of the longer route and the shorterroute to the particular GPS device
 9. A community routing systemcomprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; atransceiver to connect and exchange information with a community ofglobal positioning system (GPS) devices; and a processing logicexecuting on the processor configured to: transmit, to a particular GPSdevice, a selection of one or more alternate routes in use by one ormore GPS devices of a subset of GPS devices within the community of GPSdevices, wherein the subset of GPS devices and the particular GPS deviceare part of a same social network, wherein a social network is a groupof users associated with a corresponding group of GPS devices that arecollectively registered with the community routing system, and whereineach GPS device in the community is associated with a vehicle; provide aselection to the particular GPS device of a currently selected route andthe one or more alternate routes in use by the subset of GPS devices;and receive a selection of an alternate optimized route from the one ormore alternate routes in use by the subset of GPS devices.
 10. Thecommunity routing system of claim 9, the processing logic furtherconfigured to: identify a preferred route for directing the one or morevehicles in the community to the desired destination; evaluate alternateroads that can be taken off the preferred route to reach the desireddestination; receive a current traffic congestion information from atraffic congestion information provider; determine one or more locationswhere traffic levels along the preferred route exceed normal levelsalong the preferred route at the current time; and in response to theGPS device reaching the desired destination, receive information of anactual route taken by the GPS device.
 11. The community routing systemof claim 9, the processing logic further configured to: create at leasttwo optimized routes to reach a desired destination, wherein the atleast two optimized routes provides routing instructions to minimizedriving time for the community of GPS devices; transmit a firstoptimized route to reach the desired destination to a second subset ofGPS devices within the community of GPS devices; and transmit a secondoptimized route to reach the desired destination to a third subset ofGPS devices within the community of GPS devices.
 12. The communityrouting system of claim 9, the processing logic further configured to:receive updated traffic congestion information; determine whether thetraffic congestion information has substantially changed; in response todetermining the current traffic congestion information has substantiallychanged, modify the at least two optimized routes to minimize theoverall driving time for the community of GPS devices; transmit themodified first optimized route to the second subset of GPS devices; andtransmit the modified second optimized route to the third subset of GPSdevices.
 13. The community routing system of claim 9, the processinglogic further configured to: receive a route request from one or moreGPS devices within the community of GPS devices, wherein the routerequest contains: a current location of the GPS device; the desireddestination of the GPS device; and a maximum re-routing distancepermitted from a typical route while traveling to the desireddestination; and determine one or more vehicles in the communitytraveling along the preferred route. interface with a database of thesame social network to facilitate improved carpool and routerecommendations amongst GPS devices subscribed to the same socialnetwork, wherein the database of the same social network is stored on anexternal network separate from the community routing system; retrieve,from a calendar component of the same social network, scheduleinformation of other users of the same social network; transmit, to theparticular GPS device, one or more carpool suggestions, wherein thecarpool suggestions identify one or more other GPS devices within thesame social network typically travelling along a same optimized route toreach the desired destination; and transmit identification informationof a user of each alternate route to the particular GPS device, whereinthe identification information contains a name of the user of eachalternate route.
 14. The community routing system of claim 8, theprocessing logic further configured to: identify one or more pastoptimized routes travelled by the particular GPS device; select one of alonger route for the particular GPS device and a shorter route for theparticular GPS device, wherein the selected one of the longer route andthe shorted route normalizes typical travel time for the community ofGPS devices; and transmit the selected one of the longer route and theshorter route to the particular GPS device.
 15. A method for optimizingtravel time for a community of GPS devices, the method comprising:retrieving, from a calendar component of a same social network, scheduleinformation of other users of the same social network, wherein the samesocial network facilitates improved carpool and route recommendationsamongst GPS devices subscribed to the same social network, and adatabase of the same social network is stored on an external networkseparate from the community routing system; and transmitting, to theparticular GPS device, one or more carpool suggestions, wherein thecarpool suggestions identify one or more other GPS devices within thesame social network typically travelling along a same optimized route toreach the desired destination.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: creating at least two optimized routes to reach a desireddestination, wherein the at least two optimized routes provides routinginstructions to minimize driving time for the community of GPS devices;transmitting a first optimized route to reach the desired destination toa first subset of GPS devices within the community of GPS devices;transmitting a second optimized route to reach the desired destinationto a second subset of GPS devices within the community of GPS devices;17. The method of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting, to aparticular GPS device, a selection of one or more alternate routes inuse by one or more GPS devices of a third subset of GPS devices withinthe community of GPS devices, wherein the third subset of GPS devicesand the particular GPS device are part of a same social network, whereina social network is a group of users associated with a correspondinggroup of GPS devices that are collectively registered with the communityrouting system; transmitting identification information of a user ofeach alternate route to the particular GPS device, wherein theidentification information contains a name of the user of each alternateroute; providing a selection to the particular GPS device of a currentlyselected route and the one or more alternate routes in use by the thirdsubset of GPS devices; and receiving a selection of an alternateoptimized route from the one or more alternate routes in use by thethird subset of GPS devices; wherein each GPS device in the community isassociated with a vehicle.
 18. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: receiving a route request from one or more GPS deviceswithin the community of GPS devices, wherein the route request contains:a current location of the GPS device; a desired destination of the GPSdevice; and a maximum re-routing distance permitted from a typical routewhile traveling to the desired destination; identifying a preferredroute for directing the one or more vehicles in the community to thedesired destination; determining one or more vehicles in the communitytraveling along the preferred route; evaluating alternate roads that canbe taken off the preferred route to reach the desired destination;receiving a current traffic congestion information from a trafficcongestion information provider; determining one or more locations wheretraffic levels along the preferred route exceed normal levels along thepreferred route at the current time; in response to the GPS devicereaching the desired destination, receiving information of an actualroute taken by the GPS device; receiving updated traffic congestioninformation; determining whether the traffic congestion information hassubstantially changed; in response to determining the current trafficcongestion information has substantially changed, modifying the at leasttwo optimized routes to minimize the overall driving time for thecommunity of GPS devices; transmitting the modified first optimizedroute to the first subset of GPS devices; and transmitting the modifiedsecond optimized route to the second subset of GPS devices.
 19. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: analyzing a vehicle capacity foreach of the roads along the preferred route; and retrieving one or moresimilar routes previously taken by the GPS device.
 20. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising: identifying one or more past optimizedroutes travelled by the particular GPS device; in response toidentifying the one or more past optimized routes travelled by theparticular GPS device, selecting one of a longer route for theparticular GPS device and a shorter route for the particular GPS device,wherein the selected one of the longer route and the shorted routenormalizes typical travel time for the community of GPS devices; andtransmitting the selected one of the longer route and the shorter routeto the particular GPS device.